Drivers in Cornwall can breathe a sigh of relief. A rocket, which yesterday developed over 14,000lb of thrust and will be part of an engine designed to smash the landspeed record of 763mph, will not appear on the roads of the county any time soon. It remained instead firmly bolted to the floor in Newquay. Twenty-seven square kilometres of South African desert are being cleared by hand for the Bloodhound supersonic car, which will attempt to break the record next year. There are a few problems to solve on the way. No one knows what will happen when the car deploys its air brakes at a speed of over 800mph. Or how the aluminium wheels will behave. The car itself, which looks like a jet fighter minus wings, is still being built. Trying to cram a rocket, a jet and a Formula 1 engine into the same machine sounds like an inherently daft endeavour. But of such eccentricity is genius made.